Post by The Grim Reaper on Jul 8, 2008 16:17:27 GMT -5
Florence quarterback Omar Jacobs, left, tries to get by Huntington’s Brandon Johnson during the Phantoms’ playoff game against Huntington on Monday at Florence Civic Center.
By Shawn Singleton
Published: July 7, 2008
FLORENCE — With a two-week layoff, the lone question facing the Florence Phantoms heading into Monday night’s AIFA divisional playoff game against Huntington was whether rest or rust would dominate the contest.
Everyone got their answer soon after the opening whistle.
The Phantoms scored five touchdowns on 13 plays in the first half en route to blasting the Heroes 55-9 at Florence Civic Center.
“It was really neither rest or rust. We have one goal, and that’s to bring a championship home to Florence,” Phantoms defensive end/linebacker Leonard Moore said. “All of our guys were fired up, and we knew what we had to do.”
“Being off for two weeks didn’t hurt us,” Florence receiver A.J. Bennett said. “We knew we were going to be ready for Huntington.”
After Huntington’s Jason Cherry missed a 29-yard field goal, it took just one play for Florence (11-4) to make the Heroes pay.
From the Phantoms’ 5-yard line, Jacobs dropped back to pass and aired a deep ball to the end zone. Reggie Glover out-jumped his Huntington escort to come down with a 45-yard scoring pass. Derrick Scott added the PAT, and Florence held a 7-0 lead at the 9:43 mark of the opening quarter.
“We wanted to come out, dominate and give (the Heroes) no hope,” Phantoms quarterback Omar Jacobs said. “We needed to show them that we were ready to play and not sitting around.”
“What (our coaches) preached all week was attack, attack, attack,” Bennett said. “Nothing conservative, just go after them on the first play.”
After Darnell Kennedy fumbled in the end zone for a touchback, Florence needed two plays to increase its lead. This time, Jacobs connected with high school teammate Tres Moses from 17 yards away to give the Phantoms a 14-0 advantage with 3:39 remaining in the first.
“We thought the (missed field goal and fumble) hurt us big tonight,” said Huntington coach Paul Blankenship, whose team finished the season 6-9. “We played them evenly in the second half. Florence is a good football team, and we didn’t play well enough with them.”
After Cherry hit a 24-yarder field goal, the Phantoms needed only three plays to hit paydirt once again. From Florence’s 23, Jacobs fired a strike that A.J. Bennett corralled with a diving catch at the Huntington 15. Bennett quickly got to his feet and sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone.
After a five-minute discussion, the officials ruled a defender had not touched Bennett. Florence led 21-3 with 10:57 left before halftime.
The Phantoms went back to their quick-strike offense on their next possession. Without mercy or regard for Huntington’s defense, Jacobs connected on another bomb. Bennett was the recipient of the 42-yard strike, and the Phantoms led 28-3 at 7:14 of the first half.
Florence added to the Heroes’ misery with its longest drive of the game. Jonathan Wedlock capped the six-play, 30-yard march with a 2-yard TD run that increased his team’s advantage to 35-3 with 58 seconds remaining.
Jacobs finished with five TD passes for Florence, three to Bennett. Wedlock rushed for two scores, and Citadel standout C.J. Washington rushed for another.
“I saw a defense and an offense that was in attack mode tonight,” Florence coach Tavares Bowens said. “We played to the strength of both our offense and our defense.”
Kennedy finished with a rushing touchdown and two interceptions, both by Florence’s Larry Thompson, to lead the Heroes.”
